Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your repetitive and intrusive thoughts? - and that you cannot let go of the past or stop worrying about the future. Have you ever stayed up at night replaying scenarios in your head and just imagining bad things happening or better things that could have happened if you’d done things differently?
First, know that you are not alone because overthinking is part of the human experience. Overthinking is something we all do at some point. Everyone worries at least once about school grades, professional jobs, financial affairs, or relationship problems with friends and family members.
However, overthinking is underpinned by fundamental problems and it can be a huge detriment to our mental health. Overthinking is energy-draining and it can cause us to procrastinate more and to completely set decisions aside. Most importantly, overthinking might be the root cause for missing out on fleeting windows of opportunity that don’t stay open forever.
Our thoughts are powerful and they play a major role in determining our identity and who we become. Tony Robbins once said:
Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will experience in your life
In addition, it’s extremely important to control our thoughts and the negative effects of overthinking. So in this newsletter, I am going to share some strategies, mindset shifts, and mental tactics that you can use to reduce the influence of overthinking in your life so that you finally get your mind on your side.
Awareness is the beginning of change
Awareness is the first step in putting an end to overthinking. You need to be aware and to start paying more attention to the way you think and the way you respond to your own thinking. Notice the time and situation where you tend to overthink the most. When you start to get an overview of these repetitive thoughts, you will realize that you’re worrying about things that are out of your control. First of all, I need you to acknowledge that these thoughts aren’t productive.
Journaling and writing down your thoughts is an effective way as you become more aware of your thoughts and what they’re trying to tell you when seeing them with your eyes. In fact, when you write down your thoughts it feels as if you freed up more storage in your mind. Research shows that the habit of writing what we feel helps us with metacognitive thinking.
Let go of the Past & Future / Stay Present
Overthinkers often either ruminate about the past or wander into the future which removes them from the present moment. Letting go of the past means not beating yourself up about “should haves” and “could haves” and not letting your past mistakes control your present emotions or your future decisions. There is a great quote to Lewis which reads:
You can’t go back and change the begining, but you can start where you are and change the ending. - C.S. Lewis.
Letting go of the future includes not making catastrophic predictions about unlikely events that haven’t happened yet. And not thinking of what can go wrong, but what can go right.
Being present isn’t easy. It requires practice. But whenever you notice your mind ruminating about the past or worrying about the future, try to bring it back to this moment and think:
“The past doesn’t matter. The future is out of my reach. All I have in my control is this present moment. So I will stop thinking about the past or the future. I will only think about the here and now and the sweet moments that I live in”
Be present and aware as you’re doing your daily activities and do not get caught up by the noise in your head. To illustrate, when you are walking outside, pay attention to your environment and don’t let yourself walk around unconsciously and stuck in your own head.
Try new things that you haven’t done before because it will force your mind to become more present as your mind will have to engage. Do things such as driving a car, climbing, biking, playing football, etc.
“Focusing exclusively on what is in our power magnifies and enhances our power.” —Ryan Holiday
Change the story you tell yourself
Your self-talk and the things that you constantly say to yourself — and how you constantly describe your personality — are the things you come to believe and be because we are the stories we tell ourselves.
So it is crucial to ask yourself “Does the story I tell myself motivate me or hold me back?”
I am quite sure that you are sometimes struggling with your self-talk. Clicking on this article and actually reading it up to this point means that you have negative thoughts like “this article is suitable for me because I am an over-thinker” or “I always worry about things that didn’t even happen” or “ I’m not really good with making decisions” _ Am I wrong?
So you need to change your self-perception by identifying those limiting beliefs and making them a conscious effort to stop yourself whenever you catch yourself voicing them. It's much more effective to replace these negative thoughts with positive ones, like “I am in charge of my emotions” or “I’m genuinely trying my best”.
Remember: once you change your story, you’ll change your life.
The abundance of choice & The lack of prioritization
Having a lot of choices seems like a good thing sometimes, but when you have too many choices it can become a bad thing because you end up never choosing anything. The abundance of choices can cause us to hesitate and put off important decisions. Therefore, you need to restrict your choice pool deliberately which will save you a lot of time and money.
The presence of more choices has been associated with lower chooser confidence and greater experriences of negative affect;That is, people chossing from more extensive choice sets are less satisfied with their decision outcomes and pay more for purchases that make them less happy - Sheena lyengar
It’s the same concept with the lack of prioritization. How many times have you woken up with a task list that has five or ten items on it, and you’re not really sure of which one to start with, which leads you to spend too much time procrastinating just trying to figure out where you should start.
I personally ask myself one question: “Which of these tasks would I regret most not getting done at the end of the day? “
More tips to manage your overthinking habit
Spend more time in nature
A 2008 study that was published in Psychological Science revealed that the brain becomes both calmer and sharper after a person spends time in a quiet setting close to nature. Other research also concludes that walking in green spaces puts the brain in a meditative state.
Unplug from all digital devices for a few hours. Check out the latest newsletter for more information about how to get rid of your phone addiction.
Eat mindfully. Treat yourself to one of your favorite meals. Try to find the joy in each bite, and really focus on how the food tastes, smells and feels in your mouth.
Exercise. It is scientifically proven to be an instant mood booster and stress-reducer.
Acknowledge your successes: when you find your thoughts spiraling again just look at the things that you are grateful for or the things that you’ve achieved. It does not have to be huge accomplishments, just little “wins” such as cleaning your car, finishing your homework, taking out the garbage, etc.
Take action to beat fear. “Fear can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage.” _ Napoleon Hill
My picks of the week 🙌
🎧Podcast: 9 Powerful Reflection Questions for 2021 By Jay Shetty
📺Videos: Why you always feel so mentally drained By Matt D’Avella
📚Book: The 4-Hour Work Week By Tim Ferriss
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